GE gets bigger in upstream bioprocessing with PAA Labs buy
pharmafile | August 30, 2011 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | GE Healthcare, PAA Labs, manufacturing and production news
General Electric unit GE Healthcare has continued to expand its life sciences business with an agreement to buy privately-held PAA Laboratories of Germany.
PAA Labs makes and sells cell culture products such as media, sera, growth supplements and reagents, which are used in the manufacture of protein-based pharmaceuticals and vaccines, and also as clinical research tools.
GE Healthcare said that PAA Labs’ business is complementary to its operations in cell biology research and downstream biopharmaceutical purification, and will allow it to offer a wider array of products and services.
“Adding upstream capabilities will enable us to provide an end-to-end, fully integrated service to our customers,” said Kieran Murphy, president and chief executive of GE Healthcare Life Sciences.
“We believe that an integrated approach, where we can help customers optimise every stage of their manufacturing process, has the potential to reduce cost of entry, deliver higher yields of finished product, and reduce time to market,” he added.
PAA Labs’ manufacturing facilities are registered with the FDA, and the company recently expanded its powdered cell culture media development capabilities to meet what it described as “growing global demand”.
The global market for media, sera, and reagents for cell culture is predicted to grow from $2.3 billion in 2009 to an estimated $3.9 billion by 2015, according to recent data from analysis firm BCC Research.
GE Healthcare has been steadily building a comprehensive business in life science manufacturing and research tools, kick started by its $9 billion purchase of Amersham in 2004.
Since then the company has added water processing and treatment specialist Ionics to its portfolio for $1.1 billion, disposable bioreactor specialist Wave Biotech LLC, filtration specialist Whatman plc for around $700 million and several other smaller deals involving technology companies.
The PAA Labs acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year, and the company will operate as an independent company within the GE group, with “no material impact on the management and process concerning our operating business in the short term”, according to chief executive Rainer Burian and chief operating officer Harry Brack.
Phil Taylor
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